Comments for lien on my home

Before a creditor can put a lien on your home, it must sue you first and win its lawsuit. However, if there is a mortgage on your home, the creditor that wins a judgment against you will be a secondary lien holder. The primary lien holder is the company that gave you the mortgage and it will be first in line to get paid if you decide to sell your home or transfer it to someone else. It's possible therefore that the secondary lien holder may never be paid. Therefore, a creditor who sues you for a past due debt and wins may opt to collect on its judgment against you in some other way besides putting a lien on your home. For example, it may seize another asset you own, take funds from your bank account or garnish your wages.

It's important to know that a creditor can only sue you for a debt if the debt is less than a certain number of years old. The number of years is referred to as the statute of limitations and that time period begins with the date that you last made your last payment on the debt. According to my information, here are the various statutes of limitation in Kansas that apply to specific types of debt:

A verbal contract...3 years

A written contract...6 years

A promissory note...5 years

An open ended account...3 years

So, if the debt you are concerned about is older than the statute of limitations that applies to it, the creditor cannot sue you for money you owe. However, the creditor can continue try to collect the debt from you either itself or by turning the debt over to a debt collector; it's also possible that the creditor may sell the debt to a debt collector who would in turn demand payment from you.

I hope this information is helpful. If you need further clarification or help deciding what to do about your debt, schedule an appointment with a consumer law attorney in your area who helps consumers resolve their debt collection problems.